In Nigeria, secondary school is for children from ages 10 to 18. Secondary education is divided into two parts: the junior and senior secondary education. The junior secondary education is pre-vocational and academic in scope. Most courses are compulsory, except religious and language courses (electives). For students to continue into senior secondary school, they have to making passing grades in the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examinations. In senior secondary school, students are allowed to choose which areas to concentrate on, be it science, arts, commerce, or technical studies. All students have to sit for a Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE). There are two of this: the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examination Council SSCE. Students must pass this before being admitted into any university.

in Somalia, secondary school starts from form 9 and ends in form 12. Students start it when they are 14–15 and finish it when they are 18. Students will need to study Somali, Arabic, English or Italian depending on the type of school, Religion, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physical Education, Textiles, Art and Design and occasionally Music. When they finish secondary school, they are sent to national training camp before going to either college to train as a primary teacher, joining the army or starting university to attain a degree. Pupils' age can sometimes vary as students may require to repeat a previous year if they had not achieved their required grade or may skip a year if their level of achievement is higher than predicted. Some boys might wait until the age of 14-15. As a tradition, girls didn't really go to school, except going in the morning for religious studies. A girl's duty was to learn the housework for when they get older.

In Bangladesh secondary school is called high school from classes 8 to 10. After this the students sit for their Secondary School Certificate. They then take admission to 'college', which is the name for senior secondary consisting of classes 11 and 12. Apart from that, in the Cambridge system, standard 1 to standard 4 is the junior section, standard 5 to 7 are the junior secondary section and from standard 8 to 10 is the beginning of high school. Students sit for their O' level and A' Level Examinations before applying for Universities.

In Hong Kong the government provides a twelve-year compulsory education to students in the territory. Students are promoted to secondary schools after finishing their primary school education. Until the 2008-2009 school year secondary schools had seven grades (Form/Secondary 1-7), but starting from school year 2009–2010 the 3–3–4 scheme is in operation; Form 4–6 has become Senior Secondary 1–3, Form 7 has been eliminated, and universities provide four years of education instead of three.

In India, high school is a grade of education from Standards IX to X. Standards IX and X are also called Secondary School. Usually, students from ages 14 to 17 study in this section. These schools may be affiliated to national boards (like CBSE, ISC, and NIOS) or various state boards. Education is compulsory until age 14. Although most are stand-alone day schools, some popular schools are residential. Traditional second stage in formal education, typically beginning at ages 14–16 and ending at 16–18.[1]

The Form 1 until Form 3 students are lower secondary students, while Form 4 until Form 6 are upper secondary students. There are two major exams in the secondary school, the first is PMR(Penilaian Menengah Rendah or Lower Secondary Assessment), although it is abolished now and replaced with PT3 (Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3) for the 3rd Former and SPM(Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or Malaysian Certificate of Education) for the 5th Former. The PT3 consists eight compulsory subjects, Malay Language, English Language, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Living Skills and Islamic Education(for Muslim students only). While for the SPM, there are six compulsory subjects; similar to those taken in PMR except Living Skills and Geography (those subjects are turn to be the elective subjects). There are six sections of elective subjects, such as;

In Singapore, Singaporeans aged between 13 to 17 are required to attend secondary school after taking the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) at the end of primary education. The examination determines whether the student is ready to leave primary school by passing; places in secondary schools are allocated according to students' performance in the examination. The performance of the examination also determines which track or stream students end up in. The four different tracks or streams are: "Special", "Express", "Normal (Academic)", or "Normal (Technical)".

In Ireland secondary schools go from first year to sixth year, with the typical student age being between 12 and 18. It is split into two cycles, the Junior Cycle a three year course with the Junior Certificate taking place at the end of third year and the Senior Cycle a two to three year course with the Leaving Certificate taking place at the end of the sixth year. Fourth year, also known as Transition Year, is optional, but is included as part of the senior cycle. The majority of secondary schools no longer allow their students to skip this year. Subjects vary slightly between the two certificates however English, Irish and Maths are mandatory in both (with the exception of Irish in certain situations) these three subjects are offered at Higher, Ordinary and Foundation Level (except Leaving Certificate English). Other subjects are only offered at Higher or Ordinary Level with the exception of Junior Certificate subject Civic, Social and Political Education which is Common Level. Education is mandatory up until the age of 16 or until the Junior Certificate has been sat. The majority of secondary schools also require students to wear school uniforms and in some cases a Physical-Education uniform as well. Secondary schools are sometimes called "college", e.g. Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare.

In England and Wales, secondary school is for children from the ages of 11 to 16 or 11 to 18.[2] Secondary school incorporates Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 of the National Curriculum (Year Seven to Year Eleven). After Year 11, they may leave school but must stay in some form of education until they are in the equivalent of Year 13/Upper Sixth. This could involve doing A-Levels or BTECS at a sixth form college, vocational diplomas at college or an apprenticeship. The last year group that could leave compulsory education after Year 11 was the Year 11 class of 2012. (Started Reception/Foundation Year in 2000.)

Curriculum

The "Core Curriculum" is the compulsory secondary curriculum for Key Stage 3 and 4 years/Forms 7-11/1-5.

English

Mathematics

Science (This may be taught as three separate sciences: Biology, Chemistry and Physics)

Modern Foreign Language is now compulsory for Key Stage 3 children. Common languages include French, German, Spanish, or Italian

GCSEs must be taken in all of these subjects.

Also compulsory until Year 11/ Form 5 are:

ICT

Citizenship

Personal Social Health Education (P.S.H.E)

Religious Studies (R.S.) or Religious Education (R.E.)

Physical Education (P.E.)

Sex Education (S.E.) (compulsory for Year 7 but optional for years 8–11. No GCSE available. This is usually taught compulsory to year 9 in areas of high teenage pregnancy). This may be taught as part of P.S.H.E. and Biology.

Examinations in these subjects are not compulsory, but a full or short-course GCSE may be sat if the student wishes. In some schools (mainly independent schools or high-achieving selective state secondaries) examinations in some of these subjects are school policy.

Traditionally, the Scottish system at secondary school level has emphasized breadth across a range of subjects, while the English, Welsh and Northern Irish systems have emphasised greater depth of education over a smaller range of subjects. In Scotland secondary school is for children from the ages of 11 to 18, compulsory up to the age of 16.

In Malta, secondary schools are also called Junior Lyceums, obliged education is organized in 2 levels:

Primary schools (year 1-6, age 6 - 11)

Secondary schools (form 1-5, age 11-16)

When a student finishes form 5, he/she can do the O-levels, a student may choose not to do them. If they pass they will spend 2 years in 6th form which is NOT an obliged level of education but needed to have a job. After 2 years in 6th form a student may do his/her A-levels and Intermediates. A-levels are harder than Intermediates but a student needs both to go to the next level of education which is university.

In Canada secondary schools (also known as High schools) are educational institutions usually consisting of students enrolled in grades nine through twelve (ages fourteen to eighteen), although variations and subdivisions of this structure are fairly common. In Quebec, school years are known as Secondary 1 through to Secondary 5 (grades 7–11).

In Argentina, secondary education is divided into two. The basic secondary education and high secondary school. The education is compulsory. Some schools require entrance exam. Students comprise between 12 and 18 years old.

In Brazil, admission to secondary school requires the student to achieve a specific grade in primary school (normally 6 on grades from 0 to 10). Secondary School is the same as High School plus second Fundamental Year in all Brazilian states, and is normally attended by 10- to 18-year-old students.

The secondary is called secondary education, teens go from 14 to 18 years. Classes begin in March, are 2 semesters and end in December, but Private schools or colleges can start on another date. In July given the winter holidays of 2 weeks or 1 and a half, in January begin summer vacation until the beginning of March.

In New Zealand, secondary school is often called college or high school. The majority of secondary schools run from Year 9 to Year 13 (formerly known as Forms 3 to 7) with students aged 12½ to 18½; in some areas, including Invercargill and most of the Southland Region, secondary school starts at Year 7 (formerly Form 1) with students aged from 10½.